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Apocalypse 3 – the Gospel Proclaimed from Heaven to Earth
What Apocalypse?

Or you might ask, ‘What revelation?’

We defined these last time in Apocalypse 2 – Good News Unsealed from the original Greek of this Scripture – ἀποκάλυψις.

apokalypsis of THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

Do you see it behind this graphic?

I began by pointing toward an apocalypse from heaven as bad news for some yet Good News for others.

Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people.. and the wealthy and the strong.. hid themselves…
Revelation 6:15 excerpt NASB

More about revealing the Good News from heaven to earth in a moment, but first let’s once again define our terms by narrowing what most readers already know about the Gospel.
What is the Gospel?

εὐαγγέλιον

euangelion

a reward for good tidings

{Don’t forget this primary definition about our reward for faith in the Lord.}

good tidings

{The message of good news itself}
We recognize the four books of Scripture known as the Gospels; however note these contextual uses in the New Testament including Acts, the Epistles and one in Revelation with which we will close.

From Strong’s G2098 – euangelion {with thanks to BlueletterBible.org} The KJV translates Strong’s G2098 in the following manner:
1. gospel (46x)
2. gospel of the Kingdom (3x)
3. miscellaneous (10x)
4. gospel of God (7x)
5. gospel of Christ (11x)
If you are looking for a more complete definition of the Gospel you can view it here from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.

Gospel GOOD NEWS: not exclusively about Jesus, but as revealed of eternal life, accessible to sinful man ONLY through Him.
Roger @ talk of Jesus {dot}.com

Gospel – 77x as a noun

But wait, Gospel is also a verb of action.

Here will be where we must understand distinctions between recognizing Good News, its messengers (be they angels of heaven or saints of the earth), recipients of the Good Message and actions of response.

εὐαγγελίζω – euangelizō – verb – (55x)

– from G2095 and G32; to announce good news (“evangelize”) especially the gospel:—declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel).
- used in the OT of any kind of good news
- in NT primarily:
1. preach (23x),
2. preach the Gospel (22x)
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord…

And he began to say unto them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” – Luke 4:18,21 KJV

The Gospel of the End!

Why should we pay attention to Jesus concerning the apocalypse?
- The Gospel is not just the four books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
- It is not only a noun we can describe
- or is it all preaching and door-to-door evangelism.
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Don't be misled by christian claimants hitting you over the head with a Jesus sign or hateful christian morality; for they may be members of the synagogue of Satan or white-cloaked followers of false prophets.
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The Lord has revealed to John, the Apostles and those with ears to hear Who He IS!

Α ἄλφα & ō Ω

Revealing the Ending First

Before we move on to the opening of the seals which reveal the apocalypse, let’s not miss what Jesus says to John about Himself.

Jesus states (4x) in Revelation:

I am Alpha and Omega..

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

apokalypsis of Good News

omega revealing the end

The Revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 1:8 KJV

The Book of Revelation opens with this apokalypsis of WHO JESUS IS! Twice in the beginning of the apocalypse the LORD says HE IS:

the Α ἄλφα & the ō Ω.

Jesus instructs John to write to the seven churches with pointed exhortation of encouragement for some and warning for others. We see symbolism of the Holy of holies in heaven!

John uncovers the place of the churches in the Most Holy Place in Heaven — IF the saints of the church will abide by the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Members of the 21st century churches would do well to heed Christ’s warnings to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 in these last days. I cannot take time to reinforce these teachings from Revelation which I have preached previously.

Peeking at THE END

NEXT: We will open the seals hiding the omega of time from us. (I cannot unfold the entire apocalypse before its time.) Yet consider briefly and glance ahead to a Scripture near the ending of the Book.

And He who sits on the throne said,
“Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
Then He said to me, “It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end..
Revelation 21:5-6a NASB
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To be continued...
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February 5, 2021
As for me and my house – God’s family?
As Christians we no doubt know Joshua’s quote:

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15

If you are old enough to remember the Saturday Evening Post you likely recognize the Norman Rockwell painting depicting family prayer at the dinner table. It is a picture of many faithful Christian families in the mid-twentieth century.

Take a look at the dinner table in your house, for example (and witness).

What do you see in your own 21st c. christian house?
- Prayer? Probably not.
- The whole family seated together? Probably not.
- Thoughtful family communion with each other? “Communion” would be actually communicating with each other while enjoying our meals together. Definitely not.
Even in rare moments when all are present at the dinner table, all of us are NOT fully present.

“Family relationships and family time together is most important (second only to our personal relationships with God?)
- Is that your Christian social witness to your own family? Probably not.
Why do cell phones, internet distractions, video games and TV rob your house of serving the Lord?

“Are 21st century Christian houses incapable of serving the Lord even at their own dinner table?

Joshua and Caleb were two faithful followers of God and Moses who wanted to serve the Lord in the Promised Land. So many of the Hebrews wanted to go back to their slavery.

After Moses died and Joshua became leader of these people who yearned for the comforts of their slavery, once more all came down to a choice to choose to follow God OR be a rebellious household. When Joshua’s time was near he gathered the people of the Lord together and spoke.

Joshua begins his call to God’s chosen family with those word to which we must always listen with fear and trembling:

Thus says THE LORD:

The challenge:

24:2 ‘Long ago, your fathers… served other gods… 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out… And you lived in the wilderness a long time. 8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites…

11 And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand…

13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Joshua then: on behalf of the people of God – the house of God – renews the covenant of their forefathers.

14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

THE ALTERNATIVE appears prior to our well-known quote from Joshua 24:15. Joshua outlines choices:

15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord,

choose this day whom you will serve,

whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River,

or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15 is the call of a faithful leader to the people of his house to faithfulness.

The people, under Joshua’s leadership respond appropriately… before the witness of God, of his appointed leader of His House and His People… and before the God-appointed leaders who would follow after Joshua’s death.

The covenant of promise and blessing between God and his People is once more confirmed.

The promise is NOT YET fulfilled. The promised land must now be taken.

The book of Judges records how once more, the people of God break their covenant with God… a familiar and ever-repeating historical disobedience from Eden… through this 21st century day… until the Last Day.

After the time of the Judges, David eventually becomes King. After the fall of the Kingdom of David, the Prophets tell of a coming King. After the Sacrifice of Christ Jesus the True King… after the Resurrection of Jesus our true hope and New Covenant…

The promise is NOT YET fulfilled. Our King’s promised land must now be taken

… filled with the faithful who will not break OUR Covenant of baptism in His Holy Blood.

“Go into all the world,‘ is His Command.

‘and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’ – Mark 16:15

Thus says THE LORD

What is OUR response? What is our witness?

When the Apostles sought to replace the traitor Judas they chose another witness. They had a choice between two faithful witnesses.

Peter, chosen leader of the House of the King spoke:

Acts 1: 21 “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

NOW, even two thousand years later…

the promise of the Kingdom NOT YET will soon be fulfilled.

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord,

choose this day whom you will serve…

whether the gods your fathers served…

or the gods of the age in this land where you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Jesus IS Lord and King.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord… forever.

Choose this day whom you will serve:

What is your Christian Social Witness?
September 2, 2013